Elemental Collision
by Diabowserker
Summary: Calvin has always been just an average kid who causes trouble with a tiger. Okay, so average isn't the right word, but... everything changes the day that a bolt of energy grants Calvin power over the elements. Will Calvin use this power for good? Heck no!
1. Chapter 1

**I haven't written Calvin and Hobbes for some time, so forgive me if I suck.**

The courageous Spaceman Spiff, Conqueror of the Cosmos, has been apprehended by the nefarious Paladin of the alien god, Nolij, and is being taken his temple for sacrifice. Actually… No.

You see, Calvin was trying to escape from school again, and he was caught by one of the school's volunteer Peacekeepers, Adrias. Now let me tell you something about Adrias so you understand what I mean when I say Calvin was "caught". Adrias is a 3rd degree black belt in Taekwondo who is solitary, doesn't tell anyone his first name, and who's methods of Peacekeeping are unconventional, if effective. Needless to say, Calvin was being half dragged, owing to the fact that his right leg had gone numb.

Adrias looked down at Calvin and said coldly, "Can you start walking again?" His tone indicated that he couldn't care less. Calvin stared up at his 6' 3" tormentor with a marked arrogance. Icy blue eyes stared back at him. Calvin looked away, and silently conceded that Adrias knew how to look menacing, with cold blue eyes and long, unruly, dark hair, the guy looked like the kind of person who would jump out at you in a dark alley. Adrias kicked Calvin in the chest. Hard. He then said, in a menacing voice, "I asked you a question, Calvin. Answer it."

Calvin thought for a moment, then bit Adrias on the arm, twisted free from his grip and started running. He thought to himself, _it won't be long before Tyrant-in-Chief is on me again. His surprise won't last long. Time for desperate measures. _Calvin scooped a medium sized rock as he ran by, then spun on the spot and hurled the rock at Adrias. He heard a satisfying thwack, and turned… to find Adrias holding the rock, with a look of shock mingled with fury on his face. In the space of less than one second, Calvin felt amazement that Adrias had caught the rock, disappointment that he would have to go back to school, and finally, overwhelming terror when he saw the expression on Adrias's face. His last thought was, _I wish Hobbes was here. He'd be able to get me out of this, _and then the rock struck him squarely in the forehead, and everything vanished,

On distant planet Zulrag, Spaceman Spiff, conqueror of the cosmos, stood on the rim of the fiery sacrificial alter of Nolij. Facing him, also on the rim, was Trek, the paladin of Nolij and a traitor to the human race. Two senior members of the clergy from Planet Zogwarg had their Death Ray Blasters trained on him. They looked like humans mixed with beetles, and Spiff knew he would kill them without blinking an eye when the opportunity presented itself. Trek, who held only a Voltran Plasmablade would be a bit more difficult. And not only because of the unnatural abilities granted to him by his dark god, thought Spiff grimly. Taking the life of another human being, even one as vile as the blue-eyed man with the shaved head standing before him. It was Trek who broke the silence. "Well, Spiff," he said with a chuckle, his voice cold as ice, "Your luck finally seems to have run out. If not for my orders to bring you alive, these two would have already killed you," He indicated the Zogwargs, "But as you have come to the Temple of Nolij, that no longer seems necessary."

Trek turns to the altar and spoke in a clear, powerful voice, "Oh mighty Nolij, grant to me the energy of the Nine elements so that I may transfer the energy of your greatest foe into thy kingdom. I call upon water, spirit, earth, plant, fire, light, air, acid, and flesh." As he spoke, the fire within the pit flared to a hellish red, and then an orb, consisting of nine different colors of energy, rose to hover directly above Trek. The Paladin's face broke into an evil grin. "Any last words before you meet Nolij, Spiff?" He taunted. Spiff stared at him defiantly, "Just one," he said, and his ace broke into a grin that rivaled Trek's, "Catch." And he hurled a demise-o-bomb at Trek's head. The Zogwargs hissed and pointed their Blasters at the bomb just as Trek cut it in half with his Plasmablade. There was a deafening explosion of bright purple flames, and the entire room was blown to pieces, along with the Zogwargs, and the orb of elements shot off into the sky. When the debris settled Spiffed sagged to the ground, covered in burns. As he lost consciousness he looked up into Trek's livid face and managed to say, "You just granted your most powerful foes the Nine Elements as a weapon against you. Congratulations." And then everything faded.

**What did you think? Specifically, what do you think about the multiple viewpoints between Calvin's parallel identities. Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the next chapter. Enjoy.**

Calvin came to in an awkward position. He was lying on the ceiling, looking down on Hobbes, who was lying on his bed. Calvin closed his eyes, thinking, _Could the world be any weirder?_ Fortunately, when he opened his eyes the world had righted itself, and he was lying on his bed, looking up at the ceiling. His eyes widened and a cry of alarm formed in his mouth a nanosecond before something stripy and orange fell from the ceiling and began attempting to disembowel him. Calvin fought with Hobbes for five days and five nights (or five seconds, whichever you prefer) until the two of them finally collapsed, exhausted.

Once he caught his breath, Calvin asked, "How long was I out?"

"Three days," Hobbes panted, "During which time a meteorite fell into the woods, school ended, and you were officially suspended for the first week of next year."

Calvin jumped to his feet, "You mean I get to start next school year a week late?" He asked breathlessly, "Hobbes, old buddy, I could jump for joy!" He does just that, but, since he's standing on the bed, he hits the ceiling and gets knocked to the floor.

When Calvin regains his senses, Hobbes finishes, "And as I was about to say UNTIL you knocked yourself silly, you've been put under adult supervision at all times. There are six Peacekeepers stationed around the house."

_If I knew any curse words I would use them, _thought Calvin sourly. Just then, a horrible thought struck him. "Hobbes," asked Calvin cautiously, "Would one of the Peacekeepers stationed here happen to be Adrias?"

Hobbes looked slightly surprised. "How did you know the Head Peacekeeper's name?" he asked.

"He's the one who knocked me out," Calvin said, trying to keep his emotions in check. He quickly gave up, thinking, _it won't cause me any harm to express myself. _He then screamed, "Doggone it!" and he slammed his head against the wall. Unfortunately, Calvin had forgotten his recent head trauma, and as such, he ended up knocking himself out again. Rolling his eyes, Hobbes slung his abnormally short friend over his shoulder and set him back in bed. _If only I knew where his comic books were, _thought Hobbes. Then he shrugged. That was a problem that could be easily remedied.

Spaceman Spiff came to in a dank cell that smelled strongly of mildew and took a moment to evaluate his new accommodations. No window. Barred door. From the sound coming from it, he would guess the bars were charged. Hole in the ground for a toilet. Spiff wrinkled his nose. He'd seen outhouses that were cleaner than this dump. _I've been in worse places, though, _thought Spiff grimly. That didn't provide a lot of comfort. Now that he'd taken stock of his surroundings, Spiff took stock of himself. This was much easier. Broken wrist. Deep bruising on his leg. Major concussion. Cracked ribs. Numerous cuts, some deep, some not. _And, _he thought, _As if that's not enough, my concealed Atomic Napalm Neutralizer (ANN) is gone. _Yes, things were looking dire for Spaceman Spiff, but he knew he would find a way to escape. He had to, if he was to prevent Trek from reclaiming the Nine Elements, for, contrary to Trek's beliefs, Spiff did not have control of the Nine Elements. Spiff had clearly seen its energy orb fly off into space, and he knew full well that none of the energy had entered his body. He had, however, seen at least five different energies enter Trek's body. _Five! _Thought Spiff in awe. The man had been dangerous enough when he'd only been able to call on the elements occasionally, but now he had at least five of them that he could summon and control at will. Talk of the devil, there was Trek right outside his cell.

"Well then Spiff," said Trek. There was a smile on his face, but it only served to make him look more deranged. "You've had time to think it over, and I want some answers. So tell me; where are the Nine Elements. I know you don't possess any, or you would certainly have tried to escape. Tried and failed I might add." Trek paused.

Spiff's mind was racing. _If only I could come up with some plausible answer, _Spiff thought desperately_, I might be able to mislead him long enough to formulate a plan. _But just then Trek held up a hand. "I can see that you have no more idea as to where they are than I do. And as for your escape plans, you can forget about them. There is no escape." Trek than walked away.

Spiff's mind was racing. Several explanations as to what had just occurred came to mind, but only one of them even remotely made sense. Spiff slumped back in defeat. The greatest enemy of mankind had the Power of Spirit. Trek could break into people's minds.

**Did that make any sense to you? Let me know.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yes, people, I'm still alive. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, considering how long you had to wait for it.**

Spaceman Spiff lay in his cell, head lolling back, mouth open, and eyes closed. To the Zogwarg guard, he appeared asleep. The insectoid creature deactivated the electric current on the bars, entered the code to open the cell door, and stepped inside. He removed a small vial of belthis from the pouch at his waist. The poison was rare and expensive, an import from Elamo, whose inhabitance were skilled assassins. The insidious concoction would bond to a creature's brain, at first causing only disorientation, but gradually causing major confusion, as the subject was forced to relive their worst memories. Within a week, two at the most, any sentient being would be reduced to a raving lunatic, caught forever between the past and the present. Why Trek wanted Spiff to be subjected to that terror was a mystery, but the Zogwarg was happy to do it. The cursed human had killed both of his brothers and his father and uncle. This would be fitting revenge. He approached the sleeping figure, preparing to pour the poison into his open mouth. Suddenly, Spiff's eyes snapped open and he sprang forward, and kicked the Zogwarg squarely in the chest. The alien toppled backward and fled towards the hallway. He'd just reached the control panel when he was tackled from behind. An arm tightened around his neck, cutting off his breathing. He struggled and thrashed, his claws grabbing for his Death Ray Blaster. No sooner did his pincer close around the weapon than he felt his head forced straight up as his body was forced down. He felt an excruciating pain in his neck as he heard something snap. His vision turned black, he couldn't draw breath, couldn't move, couldn't even fell the weapon in his hand. And he knew, in a final moment of clarity, that Spiff had killed him, just as he'd killed his family.

Spiff stood up from the body. He examined it for any signs of life, and found none. He nodded in satisfaction. _When you had a reputation as a marksman_, he reflected, _people didn't expect you to be a good enough brawler to break someone's neck. _He found fist fighting distasteful, but Spiff had long since learned that you didn't always have the luxury of picking the weapons. The only way you could survive was to be competent in as many skills as possible. He removed the Zogwarg's card key, poison vial, and Death Ray Blaster. He examined the weapon critically. _Clumsy, but powerful, _he decided. That was representative of nearly all Zogwarg technology. From this, he was able to draw two conclusions. First, he would be taking no prisoners. Secondly, Spiff knew, this weapon would have a very limited supply of ammunition. _I'll need to get out of here quick, _he knew. Trek's power over spirit would allow him to locate Spiff at a moment's notice. Time was of the essence. But there were two things he needed to do first. The first was to recover his gear. It was only a matter of time before they cracked the code on his log, and it contained an awful lot of information he did _not _want Trek to get a hold of. Secondly, he needed to access the interstellar radar. If properly rerouted, it might be able to track the path of the Elemental Orb. And that was a weapon more valuable than a Fission Collapse Missile, or FCM for short, which were capable of destroying entire stars. Spiff took one last deep breath and set off at a steady jog down the passageway.

* * *

Calvin came to sometime in the night. He rolled over and looked out the window… to find two glowing eyes staring back at him. "Aah!" he yelled and rolled off the bed. As Hobbes slipped back into the room, Calvin asked, angrily, "What were you doing out there, and why'd you wake me up like that?"

Hobbes said, obviously trying hard not to laugh, "Waking you up like that was insanely funny. And I was out checking to see if the Peacekeepers had fallen asleep. I wanted to show you the meteor impact sight."

Calvin choked, "Meteor impact?"

"Yeah, didn't I tell you about that?"

"I thought you were joking!"

"I was serious."

"Sweet!" exclaimed Calvin. "Are the Peacekeepers asleep?"

"Yep!"

"Even Adrias?" Somehow Calvin had a hard time picturing the martial artist being so lax on security.

Hobbes scratched his chin, "Actually, he's still awake, but he's deep in meditation. I roared in his ear and he didn't even react."

"Alright then. Let's go!" Calvin tied his bed sheets together and slid out the window, with Hobbes right behind him. He stole a quick look at Adrias, but the Head Peacekeeper was sitting cross legged with his eyes closed, a blue composite bo-staff leaning against the wall. Hobbes whispered, "Followed me." Then he raced off into the forest. Calvin cast one nervous glance over his shoulder, and then followed his friend into the forest.

* * *

Adrias sat with his eyes closed, in quiet meditation, using his other four senses to their fullest advantage. Once he was sure that Calvin was out of sight, he stood, working the stiffness from his muscles, and hefted his staff. He approached the point where Calvin had entered the woods. To the untrained eye, there was nothing to suggest that someone had just passed through. But Adrias' eyes were far from untrained. He saw all the signs of passage, from broken undergrowth to compressed patches of soil. Adrias took a long, slow breath, and then exhaled. He then ghosted off into the night, hot on the trail of the miscreant.

_Fum_! The Zogwarg collapsed as the death ray struck him in the bac

* * *

k. Spiff stepped out from his hiding place, shaking his head. These guards were some of the worst sentries in history. They didn't expect anyone to be here, so they often didn't see him until it was too late. Spiff walked purposefully towards the door. He inserted the card key and it slid right open. The Zogwarg who'd been trying to crack the code on his log spun around at the noise… only to topple backward as Spiff's shot took him in the head. Spiff walked over to the table and put back on his gear. He sighed contentedly as his hand closed around the familiar grip of his ANN gun. He put back on his combat armor and infra-red visor. He strode over towards the computer consol and activated the interstellar radar. He immediately began rerouting it's sensors to scan for energy signatures. It didn't take long to pick out the far more powerful trail of the Elements Orb from the less energetic trail of the many starships in the area. He downloaded the trail, cleared the computer, and turned to leave. As he did so, he felt vines wrap around his legs, quickly constricting his body. Spiff did nothing. He knew all too well that attempting to break free of the vines would only serve to cause him more pain. Trek stepped forward with a knowing smile on his face. "And now, I think we should have a little chat about the location of the Elements."

* * *

"Woah," said Calvin. Hobbes snickered, "Could you be any more articulate?" But woah just about summed up the sight before him. He was standing at the edge of a clearing. The ground was covered in ash from the trees that had once stood there. Black stone was scattered around, and each and every one of these space rocks were filled with gemstones. He saw clusters of sapphires, clumps of rubies, and even some odd crystals that looked like quartz, but were laced with gold dust. Hobbes watched Calvin's disbelief with a knowing smile. "Pretty cool, huh?"

Calvin shook his head. "Pretty cool? Hobbes this is freakin' amazing," he said quietly. Then he smiled. "When we sell all this, we'll be filthy stinking rich!"

Hobbes laughed, "For a minute there, I was wondering who you were and what you'd done with Calvin."  
Calvin chuckled and picked up ruby the size of his fist. "This alone should give us a few grand, don't you think?" Hobbes only smiled knowingly. Suddenly, there was a bang and a flash of red light, and Calvin was knocked off his feet and slammed against a tree trunk.

**What do you guys think of this chapter? Considerably more lengthy than my previous two, huh? Reviews are what make this all possible.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Did you guys all have a good Christmas? Or maybe you celebrate a different holiday? Whatever. ****Where were we?****Oh yeah. Calvin just got thrown against a tree by an exploding gemstone, right? Well, Calvin wanted to cuss Hobbes out, but I wouldn't let him! Muahahaha! And I have to wonder how many of you will get the reference to a rather popular series of C&H fics? Enjoy it, either way.**

Calvin was muttering, "Curse you, you stupid snow goon, you friggin mother-" **Ahem! **"Oh, sorry."

"What's that, Calvin?" asked Hobbes in a voice that was half concerned, half amused.

"Nothing, I was just-" Calvin cut off, realizing how crazy it would sound to say that he was being manipulated by a guy sitting at a computer, although how Calvin discovered it in the first place is a mystery to me. "Just rambling," he finished rather lamely. Then he turned on Hobbes and yelled, "You _knew _that that ruby was going to explode! What if the blast had killed me?"

"Ah, but I knew it wouldn't, seeing as the first time I picked up one of those quartz rocks, it blew up," said Hobbes with a chuckle.

"Well, still," Calvin broke off for a moment, "Wait, the first _time_ you picked one up? You picked up others and they didn't explode? Why?"

"I'm not sure," responded Hobbes, "But go ahead and see for yourself." He indicated a nearby sapphire.

Calvin eyed him suspiciously. "You're not just trying to get me to blow up again are you?"

Hobbes looked offended. "Would I do something like that to you?" he asked. Calvin just stared at him. "Oh yeah," Hobbes trailed off. Calvin nodded, "Exactly." Hobbes said, "Well then the only thing to do is, CATCH!" And he hurled a large sapphire at Calvin's head. Calvin reacted instinctively, bringing up his hand to catch it. As he did, he closed his eyes and braced himself for the explosion that was sure to come.

* * *

Spiff lay on the ground, gasping for breath, struggling to recover from the searing agony that had just coursed through his veins. He heard Trek speak from somewhere above him. The man's words were laced with anger and frustration as he yelled, "Where is the Elemental Orb, and why can't I rip the knowledge from your mind?" When Spiff didn't respond, Trek roared in fury and unleashed a searing prong of Light energy. Spiff reared up as his agony returned and intensified. He felt as though his body had been filled with molten lead. He thought for sure that he must die, for the agony was surely far too great for a human body to endure without destruction. And then it was over. For a brief moment, Spiff reflected that the power of Spirit could be thwarted by simply not thinking about anything, save for one idea. Spiff immediately refocused as he felt Trek struggling to break through the gap that the stray thought had created. He took a deep breath and continued to say, over and over again, _So what if you can see, the darker side of me, no one can ever change this animal I have become. _The song may have been incredibly annoying to hear over the radio all the way to this planet, but the catchy tune had proved useful. Trek growled in frustration, then hauled off and kicked Spiff in the side. He barked at one of the nearby Zogwargs, "Give him the Belthis. I'll be back shortly." He then strode out of the room. Even within his shielded thoughts, Spiff felt a terrible fear. There was no way he'd be able to reach his ANN with his hands bound, and once injected, Trek would be able to take whatever information he wanted at will. As the Zogwarg approached, Spiff did the one thing he could think of. He twisted his head towards his shoulder, where, he knew, there was a pill made of compressed Pytherel leaves. The pill would kill him the moment it entered his blood stream. There was no antidote in existence. _Well, _he thought rather grimly, _I've had a nice run of it. _As he bit down on the pill, the room was rocked by the unmistakable sound of Frap-ray fire, and a huge hole was blown in the wall. A group of creatures that looked like a cross between large cats and humanoids entered through the hole. They carried silver, metal staffs with glowing blue tips. Spiff recognized them immediately. They were the Valtruan, likely from the planet Trelgarn, based on the alternating orange and black stripes on their fur. The staffs were called Ionizers, and they were some of the most powerful fighters in the galaxy. One of the Zogwargs discovered this the hard way when he trained his gun on the leader. The man's (cat's?) staff flashed straight into the alien's chest, and with a flash of blue light and a rushing sound, the vile creature was turned to ash. The rest of the Valtruan engaged the remainder of the Zogwargs. The one standing over Spiff seemed uncertain whether to help with the fight or to inject the Belthis. The choice vanished as Spiff spat the Pytherel pill into the alien's open mouth. The creature choked for a moment, then collapsed on the floor in a heap. It took only a moment before the rest of the Zogwargs had been disintegrated. The leader of the rescue team glanced down at Spiff, and then struck the plasma restraints with his Ionizer, overloading and breaking them. Spiff stood up and glared at the man. He glared right back. Then, as one, they broke out laughing and embraced.

The Valtruan, said, "It's good to see you again, old friend."

They broke apart as Spiff laughed, "Cutting it a little close this time, weren't we Kwayzer?"

Kwayzer chuckled. "I just wanted to make you sweat it out," he said. The sound of fast approaching footsteps returned them to the here and now. "We'll have to catch up later," said Kwayzer, suddenly serious, "But for now, we'll have to make sure that Trek doesn't catch up with us." And with that, the group ran out the hole in the wall. Well, except for one, who tripped, but he's not really important.

* * *

Calvin opened his eyes after about a minute had elapsed with no explosion. The sapphire glittered in his hand, looking to all the world like just another jewel. Hobbes shrugged. "I told you," he said nonchalantly.

Calvin let out an audible sigh. "Well, that's a relief," he said.

"Not for long it isn't," said a harsh, cold voice from the woods behind him. Calvin spun around to see Adrias stepping out from behind a tree. The bo-staff hung loosely from his right hand. "I'm going to give you one chance, and on chance only to come quietly, Calvin," said the demonic freshman, "After that, I'm bringing you home dead or alive."

Calvin said, "Alright, alright. Just let me do one thing first."

"You aren't in much of a position to-" Adrias cut off as Calvin hurled the sapphire at his head. Just as Calvin anticipated, Adrias caught it expertly with his left hand. He shook his head. "Must you always make this difficult?" he asked mockingly. Almost as if reacting to his statement, the gemstone explode in a flash of blue light, tossing the Peacekeeper like a rag doll. Calvin simply said, "Yes." Then he and Hobbes took off into the woods. _Hah, _Calvin thought to himself, _We sure showed that mother- _**Ahem! **"Oh, sorry." Hobbes didn't look back, but he took the time to spin a finger around his temple.

**So what do you guys think? I've decided to try a more humorous approach, and I'd like you're opinions on it. How can you tell me, you ask? That's what the review button is for!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello, reviewers and other readers who don't! This is Diabowserker wishing you a Happy New Year! I want to thank all of you who took the trouble to give me your opinion on a more comedic approach. Since the new approach received a unanimous recommendation, you can expect more humor in this chapter. Now, enough of my blabbering and on to the story.**

Spiff and Kwaizer ran at full speed across the barren, red desert that covered the entirety of planet Zocar, the remaining three other Valtruan fallowing closely in their wake. Originally, there'd been ten Valtruan warriors in addition to Kwaizer. However, five had broken off over an hour ago to run interference when a huge group of Nolij cultists had appeared over the horizon. Spiff shuddered at the memory. He'd known that the hold of the evil god had spread far, but it wasn't until he'd seen the massive force of almost every known sentient species had he truly comprehended the full horror of the cult's power. Elamonoes, Zogwargs, Trelazans, Valtruans, Vordrians, Raquayzi, and Tallordrians. The one thing that gave him any comfort was that he'd seen no Cobeltrans and only one Human; Trek. If Nolij managed to gain a decent sized following in either of those races, than it would truly be the end of all hope, for then, there would be no planet that the evil god did not have some hold on. Of course, Spiff thought, the majority of the Trelazens, Valtruens, and Tallordrians were devote members of the Coalition of Free Empires, which also included the Humans and was founded by the Cobeltrans. Elamonoes worked for anyone with money, and the resources of the Cult were vast. Zogwargs had lived there whole lives tunneling beneath the ground of Zocar and other planets rich in minerals, dying and suffering for the luxuries of the alien species called Groxeian. It was a small wonder that when the Cult had offered to overthrow the Groxeian, the Zogwargs had joined them without hesitation. Raquayzi were a true mystery to the rest of the space community. All of their planet's atmospheres were filled with inky black clouds that completely obscured the surface. They always refused to allow anyone to land on their planets, instead insisting on contact in space. Those who chose to ignore their warnings were never seen again. As for the Vordrians, they were the ones who founded the Cult in the first place. An explosion in front of Spiff brought him out of his reverie. He dove to the side, barely avoiding the huge fragments of stone flying through the air. One of the Valtruan wasn't so lucky. A massive shard of rock smashed his head in. That was how the other two had been killed. Trek was using Earth to blast apart the desert ground and keep them from reaching the Valtruan starships a mile from here. When Spiff had asked why Trek didn't just blow apart the ground beneath the ships, Kwayzer had laughed rather grimly. "We knew coming into this that we might have to deal with the Elements. We left one of our warriors up in space with the craft anchored to an orbiting asteroid. He'll have his sensors locked on the rendezvous point. The moment we arrive, he'll drop in to grab us. In quick, out quick." Spiff had to admit that this made sense. Of course, at this point, they'd be extremely lucky if there was enough left of them to pick up. As if to emphasize this point, a blue gas sprayed out of a crack the last member of the escort had just stepped on. The Valtruen collapsed to the ground, thrashing as his fur began burning off, the skin beneath sloughing off. Spiff cursed. _Acid, of all things, _thought Spiff, sourly. Then he frowned. There was something about that that seemed off, but he couldn't quite…

"We're here, Spiff," yelled Kwayzer, "Jump!"

Spiff looked up, and jumped as high as he could. Swooping low over the desert was a four winged fighter craft made of a silvery blue metal. The bottom was open, revealing a cargo hold. Kwayzer was sitting up there, paw extended for Spiff to grab. It was a good thing, too, because even with all his training, Spiff just didn't have the cat-like reflexes of a Valtruan. He barely caught his comrade's extended paw. For a moment, it seemed he might fall, but then he was scrambling up into the ship, the opening closing behind him. And the ship soared out of the atmosphere, leaving behind only the frustrated roars of Trek.

* * *

Calvin and Hobbes ran for their lives through the woods. While it was obvious that Adrias was indefinitely faster than either of them, they knew the woods far better than he. Plus, they had a head start, and this would probably make all the difference. They scrambled over rocks and tree stumps, through bramble patches, and generally making themselves as hard to follow as possible. They could hear Captain Tyranny smashing through the brush behind them. He obviously no longer cared if they knew he was there, sacrificing stealth for speed. Regrettably, Calvin realized, that could be a bit of a problem. If Adrias caught them, well, they'd already pulled the biggest ace they had to get a head start. _If_ Adrias caught them, then they'd be seriously screwed. Suddenly, Calvin's feet hit water, and he stumbled, falling face first into a pond. Calvin thrashed about, struggling for air, until he realized that he could stand up and be above the water. Hobbes slid to a stop. "Come on!" he yelled.

Calvin looked back the way he'd come. Adrias would be on them in a moment. He should run, praying for a miracle. But somehow, he couldn't. Calvin found himself shaking his head. "I'm not running from this guy for the rest of my life. It ends here, one way or another," he said with determination.

Hobbes nodded. "Then we'll face him together," he said with a touch of confidence, "After all, there's not a man alive who can beat a tiger in a hand to hand fight."

They looked back towards the brush. It rustled, and then Adrias stepped out of the gorse. He was covered in leaves, but he looked perfectly aware. His blue stave was held in a battle ready position. "End of the line Cal-," Adrias broke off, a look of horror crossing his face. "Calvin, look out!" he yelled.

Calvin looked over his shoulder. There was nothing behind him but Hobbes and the pond. "What?" he asked, confused.

Adrias yelled, "Are you blind, you idiot? There's a tiger behind you!" He slid a finger up the side of his staff and a steel blade popped out of the top, a foot long, at least, gleaming dully. He stepped forward, swinging his staff, a glaive, Calvin recalled it was called.

Calvin yelled, "Adrias, that's Hobbes!"

Without taking his eyes off of Hobbes, Adrias said, his voice now returned to his normal, cold tone, "There's no time for your games right now, Calvin. Move slowly out of the way and make no sudden moves." When Calvin made no move, Adrias swept him aside with the non-pointy end of his glaive. Calvin was sent sprawling, and Adrias thrust the blade at Hobbes' chest. Hobbes rolled backward into a somersault, barely avoiding the deadly blow. As he stood back up, Hobbes cried, "Stop!" There was no missing the desperation in his voice.

Adrias stumbled back, looking as though someone had just hit him over the head with a couch. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He tried again, with similar results. They say third time's the charm, and so it proved. Adrias croaked, "You talk?"

Calvin said, "Well duh, he talks. What would make you think Hobbes was a mute?"

Adrias closed his eyes and shook his head. "That flash must've frazzled my brain. I'm going to count to three, and the tiger's going to be gone."

Calvin opened his mouth to speak, but Hobbes cut across him. "Adrias," he said softly, "I'm not sure what that energy surge was, but it somehow stripped away the veil over your vision. You're going to see a lot of things you didn't before, but you're going to have to accept it now, or it's going to prove impossible."

Calvin gaped. "No one else can see you?" he asked numbly.

Hobbes shook his head. "The power of youth and innocents is very great, and in some cases, it can pierce the veil created to hide that which human minds don't wish to perceive. I've always been aware of this, and that someday, you might no longer be able to perceive me."

Calvin spoke then, "I'm not ever going to lose my sight of you, Hobbes. You're my only friend."

Adrias said from behind them, "Um, I hate to break up this moment, but we might have a problem." Calvin barely picked up the tremor in his voice that had been so apparent just a moment ago. _Note to self, _thought Calvin, _It's not easy to rock this guy for long. _He turned around, and had to stifle a scream. Approaching from the woods was a creature unlike anything he'd ever seen. It had the basic appearance of a wolf, but it had no fur. Instead, it was covered in twisted, inky black skin. You could see pulsing red veins running along the length of the body. Additionally, it was taller in the shoulder than Adrias was at the tip of his head. When it opened its mouth to snarl, it revealed six-inch steel teeth, snapping violently. "Was this what you meant, Hobbes," Adrias asked, as if he were inquiring about how the weather would be tonight.

Hobbes swallowed. "I have no idea what that thing is," he said in a small voice.

"Well, I'm going to need your help to kill it," Adrias commented, "Stay back Calvin."

Calvin nodded; quietly glad he wasn't being asked to fight the monstrosity in front of them. Hobbes and Adrias and Hobbes moved to flank the creature. Just as they reached the position they were aiming for, the creature exploded towards Adrias. The Peacekeeper fell to a knee, glaive pointed up to take the monster in the chest. But he had not anticipated the amount of force behind the slam. The weapon was wrenched from Adrias' hands, and the creature came down almost directly on top of the Peacekeeper. He rolled away, barely avoiding painful death by crushing. The creature snapped at Adrias, teeth fastening around his foot. Adrias would've died then and there if Hobbes hadn't come to his aid. The tiger hurled himself on the monster, sinking his claws and teeth into its collar. The creature released Adrias and began jumping around, thrashing its head back and forth, but Hobbes held firm, a look of fierce determination on his face. The creature thrashed around for a long time, red blood beginning to seep from the wounds. Calvin watched the whole thing in horror. Finally, Hobbes was thrown off and slammed into a tree. The blow wasn't enough to knock him out, but he was obviously too dazed to continue fighting. The monster howled, then leaned down, mouth opened wide enough to swallow Hobbes whole. Calvin screamed, "Hobbes!" The monster looked up for just a moment, searching for the noise, and, in that split second, was struck by something, large and transparent. The beast was knocked completely off its feet, away from Hobbes. As the strange force swept away from the monster in an ark, Calvin realized, with no small amount of surprise, that it was _water, _of all things. He turned, following its movement. There standing next to the now dry pond, was Adrias. His feet were spaced shoulder width apart, his arms were spread with his hands hanging open, and what looked to be the entire content of the pond hung in the air behind him. The creature stood up and looked over at him. Adrias spoke, his voice full of the hard, cold cruelty that Calvin had always found so intimidating, "Come and get some, abomination." The creature roared, and Adrias struck. His left hand swept forward, all four fingers coming together to touch the thumb. The water swept forward, solidifying mid-flight, into a single, massive icicle. The huge missile slammed the monstrosity in the throat, pinning it against a tree behind it. The creature thrashed around, struggling to free itself, even as its life blood seeped out of the huge gash in its throat. Finally, it stopped moving. Adrias walked over to it and pulled his glaive out of its underbelly. He then walked over to Hobbes and helped him to his feet. Then Hobbes and Adrias walked over to Calvin, the former leaning heavily on the latter. Calvin just stood there, mouth hanging open. When Adrias spoke, much of the malice had left his voice. "Are you alright?" he asked quietly.

Calvin said, "What did you, and how?"

Adrias shrugged. "It felt like the right thing to do at the time. As for how, it was almost like my Taekwondo, except I was directing water instead of punches."

Calvin shook his head. "You're going to have to show me that trick," he said ruefully.

Adrias only shrugged. "I've got no idea how I did it," he said.

Hobbes said, "We may want to move now."

Calvin shook his head. He said, "No offense, old buddy, but you look awful. You need to rest."

Adrias said, "No, we need to get out of here."

Calvin opened his mouth to speak then closed it as he saw what Adrias and Hobbes had already noticed. "Yeah, let's run now," he said in a small voice.

**Dududududummmmm! What do you guys think of this chapter? It's my longest yet, even if it's a little less humorous then the last one. Elemental powers have finally arrived in this story. About time don't you think? Anyway, I've been thinking of writing a new interactive C&H story. You can find details of it in my profile under the **_**Coming Soon **_**section. Tell me what you think**

**Calvin: Vote no, please! Don't give him any more opportunities to torture me!**

**Me: Shut up, Calvin. /punt.**

**Calvin: ?**

**Me: Oh yeah, that doesn't work here, does it?**

**Happy New Year.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I have no excuse about why thins took so long to post. I told myself it was homework, then that it was the first week off and that I deserved a break, and then many more excuses, but I have no real excuse other than laziness. I hope you'll forgive me.**

"The first thing we need to do is get back into Coalition controlled space," Spiff said. He sat in the co-pilot's seat, next to Kwaizer, who was charting a course for autopilot to take. The Valtruan shook his head. "The first thing we need to do," he corrected, "is refuel. The antimatter jets are depleted, and the tackion drive is nearly dead. There's a Valtruan outpost nearby on planet Calamar. We'll conduct repairs there, and then we can return to one of the Centauri planets. I assume you want to acquire a new ship?"

Spiff nodded, "Very perceptive, old friend. I also need to report back to Coalition High Command. I can accomplish both by returning to the Cobeltran home planet. Who knows? We might even meet a few other old comrades. Seen much of Galaxoid lately?"

Kwaizer shook his head without looking up, deeply focused on his console. "You've been out of the loop quite a while, Spiff," he said, "Galaxoid's been leading an assault on the Cremling Blockade. He hopes to rally support from the Sangreal Colonies. With the Humans divided, we have very little chance of eradicating the Cult. Which, of course, is exactly what they wanted. Nebular is working on the same problem, except he took a different approach. He led a small team of other Cobeltrans through the blockade, and is working to convince the Sangrealns to lend their support in breaking down the blockade."

Spiff shook his head and whistled softly. "I don't envy their task. The Cremling Blockade has been in place practically since the Cult came into the open. That's longer than either of us have served with the Coalition. Of course, my job wasn't exactly easy either. Infiltrating the higher levels of the Cult was a dangerous and extremely arduous process. Even now, I'm surprised that I survived. I guess I owe it to you, though. What have you been doing this past year?"

Kwaizer finished charting his course and leaned back in his chair, taking a moment to respond. Then, he said, "I've been fighting in the siege on Haelmarine. Even after two years, the Vordrians are holding out. They may not have nearly as many soldiers defending as we do attacking, but the Vordrians have technology far superior to any other race. Additionally, Haelmarine has considerably more value than we originally realized. It is not only in an ideal position to attack Vorandrellis itself, but it is also insanely rich in minerals and other resources. The Vordrians are going all out to keep hold of the planet, and they're using the planet's immense resources to help them do it. During one attack I'd rather forget, I witnessed an entire Shock Unit destroyed by an intensely super-charged ion storm, generated by one of the defensive satellites."

Spiff pulled a toggle on the control panel and the view screen darkened, a tactical map of the galaxy flashing up in its place. He said, "When we recover the Elemental Orb, we'll have a weapon with more than enough potency to knock out Haelmarine, Vorandrellis, Zocar, and any other planets that we so desire. I say we focus on acquiring that weapon, and to do that, we're going to need to get an RD-125 Scout Ship, since those have energy tracking systems, and to do _that,_ we need to get back to Coalition high command."

"And to do that," Kwaizer said, "We need to refuel. We'll be at the outpost in an hour."

Spiff let out a long sigh.

The trees were moving. At least, that was how it appeared to Calvin on first glance. A second look revealed that the forest itself was not moving. However, a trio of tree creatures was approaching rapidly. They appeared to be roughly 25 feet tall, and unlike the wolf creature that lay dead nearby, they did not look twisted. They simply appeared to be living trees shaped like humanoids, minus all the branches, with leaves forming hair and beards. The one in the middle was carrying a staff that looked like a much thinner willow tree, stripped of branches. The staff was still at least two feet thick, though. The one to the left carried a pair of whips, made of thick vines and wrapped in barbed thorns. The one on the right carried a thick club. Their facial features varied, but they all had blazing green lights for eyes, and they were all running at high speed towards Calvin, Hobbes, and Adrias. The latter quickly helped Hobbes to his feet, then ran a hand over him. "Cracked ribs, fractured shoulder blade," he grunted, "You're going to have an awful lot of pain, but we'll need to move fast to outdistance these creatures. Calvin, can you take him and start running? Head for the mountains." Calvin nodded and pulled one of Hobbes' arms over his shoulder. The two of them started off, Hobbes visibly biting his tongue, fists clenched. Calvin hesitated for a moment and looked back at Adrias. The Peacekeeper leaned calmly on his glaive, staring at the approaching creatures. "What are you going to do?" Calvin blurted out.

"Buy you some time," said Adrias, "Now get a move on!"

"But…"

"Go!"

Calvin knew better than to argue. He started off, moving as fast as he could without harming Hobbes. However, he couldn't resist casting a backwards glance. Adrias had planted his glaive firmly in the ground and taken a defensive stance as he waited. Calvin noticed that the massive icicle Adrias had used against the wolf had vanished, and the pond was once again full. Calvin smirked as he turned away. Those creatures wouldn't stand a chance.

Adrias was not quite so confident. As he stood waiting for the creatures to arrive, he contemplated his strategy. He was going to lure the creatures over to the pond, then blow the pool out into chunks of ice, hopefully tearing the creatures into tiny pieces. _Yeah, right_, Adrias thought. His plan for fighting these things relied on doing something he'd only done once, had no idea how he'd done it, and even then, it would probably fail. Adrias had no delusions about his chances of success. He watched as they approached. He could see them prepare to strike with their weapons, and then he struck. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl, literally. Adrias could see every slight movement his foes made. He was also acutely aware of energy flowing along the edge of his mind. It was difficult to describe, but he could feel a cool, comforting current flowing around him. He mentally opened himself to it, and it rushed in, filling him with a sense of calm. As it filled him, his vision changed. The landscape became dull and gray, while the pond began to glow with a bright blue light. The creatures', _Trents, _Adrais somehow knew, eyes suddenly flared, and there longing for the energy flowing threw him was suddenly palpable. Adrias reached out with one hand, visualizing the blue light flowing in the way he imagined, and he snapped his hand closed to a point. The energy in him reacted, and he was suddenly aware of an overlay in his vision. He was simultaneously seeing the flow of energy and the physical reaction. He watched the pond explode outward, and then freeze into blades of ice. The ice hurled through the air, covering the Trents with lacerations, as well as hacking of several limbs. Adrias let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. He closed his mind, and the currents of energy flowed back out, leaving him feeling slightly drained. He turned away, intensely surprised that his attack had worked. Just as he was about to go catch up with Calvin, Adrias heard an odd creaking sound coming from behind him. He turned around, and saw the Trents re-growing. Their limbs and weapons were sprouting from the severed stumps, and they were doing so rapidly. Adrias swore. Things never worked out right for him. How could he have over looked such an obvious flaw? Trents were plant creatures. Of course they could re-grow. The only way to possibly kill them with water would be to shred them, like a wood chipper, and Adrias knew full well that that was out of his ability. He'd always been good at measuring the odds, his own skills, and the best course of action. The best course of action now was to catch up with Calvin, and warn him. Adrias opened his mind and let the cooling flow of energy fill him again. The world faded to gray, but this time he noticed little things, like the moisture in the ground. He took hold of the water in the pond, and, using his hands as a guide, drew it over the Trents, and froze it. That ought to hold them a while. Adrias gathered the energy in the ground together, surrounding his feet. Using what he knew about polarity, he imagined the dew on his feet polarizing with the water in the ground. In the physical world, he felt his shoes become slick. Then, maintaining his hold on the power, he took off through the woods, each step gliding along the ground, as though he were skating. He quickly left the clearing far behind.

"Okay, I need to rest, bowling-ball butt," gasped Calvin, and Hobbes shifted his weight onto a nearby tree, allowing Calvin to catch his breath. "We must've run five miles," he panted.

Hobbes looked around and then said, "Closer to two hundred yards, actually. We need more distance."

"Oh sorrrrry," said Calvin, annoyed, "But maybe you'd like to carry _me_ for this stretch."

"I'd love to, except for the fact that I broke both my legs saving your sorry butt."

"That's convenient!"

"What are you doing?" called a voice from behind them. Calvin spun to see Adrias walking towards them, although walking might not have been the right word, for he seemed to glide across the ground faster than should've been possible. "I thought you were heading for the mountains!" He sounded annoyed, exasperated, angry, and scared in equal parts.

"We are heading for the mountains!" exclaimed Calvin, "It's just-"

"Just Calvin's a huge wuss," finished Hobbes. Calvin opened his mouth to protest, but Hobbes cut him off, asking, "Did you take care of those walking plants?"

Adrias shook his head. "The Trents were beyond my abilities, and I only managed to delay them for a short time. We won't be able to make the mountains. Is there a large body of water anywhere nearby?"

Calvin nodded. "I know a place, but there's no way I can carry Hobbes any farther."

"You won't have to."

Calvin felt the ground beneath his feet become slick, like ice, and then he looked down and saw ice growing around his shoes. Calvin was nearly thrown onto his back as the icy disk shot off through the woods, and he thought, just for a second, that he saw a flash of movement in the trees, or possibly a moving tree… But then it was gone, as they sped along towards Hobbes Creek, where-

"Calvin Creek."

**Hey! You aren't supposed to hear me narrating!**

"I claimed the place first, not Hobbes!

**Oh really? Then why does the sign say Hobbes Creek?**

"Um… Well, Calvin Creek is catchier!"

**I don't care what's catchy, I care what's accurate!**

"Your mom's accurate!"

**That makes no sense!**

"You know what else makes no sense? Your MOM!"

**Leave my mom out of this!**

"Then make it say Calvin Creek!"

**How dare you threaten me! I am the author of this story!**

"Your mom's the author."

**I'm not changing the name!**

"Your mom's the-"

"Calvin, did you hit your head?" asked Adrias with some concern.

"What, no I was just…" Calvin flailed for a logical explanation to his rambling, before realizing there was none, and he closed his mouth.

"In that case, I need some directions," said Adrias.

"Go east for another quarter of a mile and we'll be there," said Hobbes.

"Thanks."

"I could've told you that," muttered Calvin sulkily.

"Sure you could've," said Hobbes sarcastically, "Remember the time you got lost fifty feet from your backyard?"

"Yes, and as I recall you weren't much help then, flea bait," sniped Calvin angrily.

"You two are giving me a headache," snapped Adrias, "And unless you'd rather walk, I suggest you shut up!"

"Okay, shutting up now," said Hobbes, clamping his paw over Calvin's mouth before he could make a retort.

Five minutes passed in silence as Adrias negotiated turns at high speed, avoiding trees and rocks before coming to a sudden halt on the shore of Hobbes Creek. The disk of ice floated to the ground and dissolved. Calvin stood up, then ran forward to catch Adrias as he staggered and sank to one knee.

"I'm alright," panted Adrias, "Just a little tired."He got to his feet, stretched, then said, "Get Hobbes and yourself out of the way, Calvin."

"I hope you know what you're doing," said Calvin as he moved over to help Hobbes.

Adrias braced his glaive against the ground and whispered, "So do I."

Calvin and Hobbes took cover on the other side of the creek. Calvin watched Adrias, tension growing in his gut by the second. Whether fortunately or not, he wouldn't have long to wait. Within ten minutes, the trees rustled and the Trents emerged, their eyes glowing green and their weapons poised to attack. Adrias, however, struck faster. He raised his hands and a large wave of water rose up from behind him and washed forward, hardening into razor sharp ice that sliced all three Trents straight through. It was an impressive attack, and Calvin almost let out a victory yell, before he noticed that the Trents were still moving forward, already reconnected by fresh wood. Adrias went on the defensive as the middle one struck at him with its staff. He swirled an orb of water around himself, hardening it into ice just before the staff struck. The ice shattered and flew around the Trent, tearing small gashes in it which healed almost immediately as Adrias dove to one side, rolled to avoid another Trent's thorn whips, and came to one knee with a surge of water flying at the one with a staff, which was immediately surrounded and encased as the water turned to ice, freezing the creature mid-swing. Adrias dove to one side again to avoid one whip, jumped over the other, and cart wheeled backwards to avoid a swipe from the third Trent's club. As he cart wheeled, a tendril of water spun from the river into his hand, hardening into links of ice as he came to his feet and snapped it fluidly at the second Trent, catching it on the shoulder and spinning it so that it's back faced him. With a quick spin, Adrias hurled another wave of water around the creature, freezing it solid. Using the backlash of the excess water rushing back into the stream, Adrias bounded over the frozen form of the first Trent and readied a final strike…

Calvin stifled a yell as the first Trent's icy casing shattered like glass. Adrias spun around at the last moment, sending his freezing surge to one side, and the Trent struck, its staff sweeping violently and catching Adrias in the chest and violently hurling him into a tree, where he slid to the ground, dazed, with blood splattered all over both the tree and his face, which continued to gush from an obviously broken nose. The third Trent lumbered over to the second Trent and brought its club down on the ice encasing it, which broke into a thousand shards. The Trents walked towards Adrias, and Calvin knew, and he knew that Hobbes knew, that this was the end. But instead of despair, fiery rage burned through his veins. How could this possibly happen? How could he, _Calvin_, let this happen? And then he knew; he would _not _let it happen.

He stepped out from behind the bush and broke into a run across the creek. He dimly heard Hobbes yell, "Calvin!" but he did not stop or slow down. The burning in his veins was reaching a fever pitch as he crossed the river. He saw the first Trent raise its staff, ready to crush Adrias like a bug. Calvin let out a yell and threw his hands out in front of him, palms out and fingers spread, and as the burning sensation became unbearable he focused on one thing only, on channeling it into the monsters before him. The world seemed to change, as though viewed on two different levels, as he saw in one side, the entire world leached of color, save for his hands, which glowed red. He saw the bright red light flare out wards and strike the Trents. With his normal vision, he saw red hot flames blast from his fingertips and smash into the Trents with the force of a flamethrower. With an almighty blast, the first Trent exploded outward in a red-hot explosion. With a simple movement of his hands, Calvin blew the explosion farther out, ripping the other two Trents into ash. As the flames went out Calvin staggered, suddenly as weary as though he had run a marathon at full sprint. He was dimly aware of Hobbes yelling, and he saw Adrias at the base of the tree, his unfocused eyes widened in shock. Calvin took a step forward and tried to speak, but no words came. He took another step forward and then crumpled, sinking into a soft, welcoming darkness.

**I hope that chapter was worth the wait. I also hope I did alright on describing the fight scene. Anyway, I should have the next chapter up within the next two weeks. I should also tell you that I'm working on writing a book of my own, called Mage Circle. So far I only have about five thousand words written, but I'd love to have someone take a look at it, if anyone wants to. I doubt you do want to but whatever. What will happen? Will some of your questions be answered? Will we find out why Calvin can talk to me? I doubt it, 'cause I don't know myself, but anyway…**

**To be continued…**

"You know what else is to be continued? Your MOM!"

**SHUT UP!**


End file.
